A glove is a garment that covers the whole hand having separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. Gloves that have an opening but no sheath for each finger are called “fingerless gloves”. Fingerless gloves having one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger are called gauntlets. Gloves which cover the entire hand or fist but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens. A hybrid of a glove and a mitten contains open-ended sheaths for the four fingers but not the thumb. Lastly, disposable gloves are often used by individuals such as health care professionals for hygiene and contamination protection measures.
Prior art gloves have provided protection and comfort to hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasions or chemicals, and disease. Generally, gloves provide a guard for what a bare hand should not touch. In contrast, the inventive multi-function glove not only functions as a protective glove, but also has attached a writing implement, a paper pad and a combination of truncated sheaths that expose the middle and index fingers and the thumb. The exposed fingers and thumb allow a person to easily grasp and maneuver the writing implement.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUEDD675,398Miller 5 Feb. 20135,003,637Lonon 2 Apr. 19914,862,521Mann 5 Sep. 19894,805,242Bolton21 Feb. 1989
The D675,398 patent discloses a multi-function glove having five finger sheaths, a zippered pocket that contains a writing implement and a viewing flap having a transparent window that interfaces with a paper pad. The inventor of this patent is also the inventor of the instant application which includes several improvements.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,637 patent discloses a glove having a back surface to which is attached a utility device that includes a driver's license, credit cards, pencils and the like.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,521 patent discloses a glove having a pocket attached thereto. The pocket is dimensioned to retain and protect a timepiece that can be viewed through a transparent window located on the pocket.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,242 patent discloses a pocket for holding a packet of dispensable paper tissues. The pocket is configured to be attached to a glove or other like articles of clothing.